Reicher and Haslam (2006) Flashcards
in the holocaust during world war 2
approximately 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis
Psychologists have different theories to why
the solders committed these murders
some psychologists think that these men killed people because
it was part of their social role
Zimbardo’s (1973) study showed that normal people will shape their behavior to
fit in with a social role
it seemed that the participants behavior was
situational and not dispositional
Reicher and Haslam (2006) recreated a similar situation to Zimbardo but they were particularly interested to see how
the group dynamic changed over time
Reicher and Haslam date
2006
Reicher and Haslam study name
the BBC prison study
Method: the study was a
controlled observation
Method: the experiment was
filmed for television
Method: how many participants took part?
15
Method: what gender were the participants?
male
Method: they were randomly assigned to
Two groups
Method: how many participants were guards?
Five
Method: how many participants were inmates?
Ten
Method: they had daily tests to measure
Depression
Compliance with rules
Stress
Method: the prisoners knew that every three days
One of them would be randomly selected to become a guard
Method: an independent ethics committee had the power to
Stop the experiment at any time if they felt it was getting out of hand
Results: the guard failed to
Form a united group and identify with their role
Results: the guards said they
Didn’t feel comfortable with the inequality of the situation and didn’t use their power as much as they could have
Results: for the first three days, the inmates acted in a way that would
Help them get promoted to guard
Results: after one was promoted
They because a much stronger group because they knew there was no more chances for promotion
Results: the unequal system
Collapsed due to the unwillingness of the guards and the strength of the prisoners
Results: on day 6
The prisoners rebelled and the participants decided to live in a democracy but this also collapsed due to the tensions within the group
Results: some of the former prisoners then wanted to set up a
Stricter regime with them as leaders
Results: the study was abandoned due to the ethics committee thinking the participants were struggling with
Stress
Conclusion: the participants
Didn’t fit in with their social roles, suggesting that roles are flexible
Evaluation: in contrast to Zimbardo’s findings
The prisoners were a strong group and the guards were weak
Evaluation: on the other hand, Zimbardo’s guards
Had more power then Reicher and Haslam’
Evaluation: the study is criticised with some saying
It was just made for tv
Zimbardo said that elements were staged and people were playing up for the cameras
Evaluation: because the study is artificial
It can’t be generalised
Evaluation: the ethics of the study was
Good as the participants weren’t deceived so they could give informed consent
